slave

[ sleyv ]

See synonyms for: slave slaves slaving on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another and forced to provide unpaid labor.
a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person: She was a slave to her own ambition.

a drudge: a housekeeping slave.
a slave ant.
Photography. a subsidiary flash lamp actuated through its photoelectric cell when the principal flash lamp is discharged.
Machinery, Computers. a device or process under control of or repeating the actions of a similar device or process.: Compare master (def. 21).

verb (used without object),slaved, slav·ing.

to work like a slave; drudge.
to engage in the slave trade; procure, transport, or sell slaves.

verb (used with object),slaved, slav·ing.

Machinery, Computers. to connect (a device) to a master as its slave.
Archaic. to enslave.

Origin of slave

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sclave (also slave ), from Old French escla(i)ve, and Medieval Latin sclāvus (masculine), sclāva (feminine) “slave,” special use of Sclāvus “Slavic, a Slav, slave” (Latin does not tolerate the consonant cluster sl- and employs the cluster scl- instead); so called because Slavs in Central Europe and the Balkans were commonly enslaved in the early Middle Ages; see origin at Slav

Other words for slave

7	toil, labor, slog, grind

See synonyms for slave on Thesaurus.com

Other words from slave

slaveless, adjective
slavelike, adjective
pro·slave, adjective
sem·i·slave, noun

Words Nearby slave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use slave in a sentence

While the finds from the genetic study are largely supported by established narratives and historic records of the transatlantic slave trade, there were also inconsistencies.
Why so many African Americans have Nigerian ancestry | Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu | August 10, 2020 | Quartz
Lawmakers, in fact, passed the Fugitive slave Act two years after statehood, creating a legal mechanism for the return of slaves to their owners.
Sacramento Report: Reparations Bill Marches Forward | Sara Libby and Jesse Marx | July 31, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
For the first half of the 19th century, the Senate was a bulwark for the South, with an equal balance of slave and free states despite the growing Northern population advantage.
The Senate Has Always Favored Smaller States. It Just Didn’t Help Republicans Until Now. | Lee Drutman (drutman@newamerica.org) | July 29, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
The Republican Party was the party of Lincoln, the emancipated slaves.
Should America (and FIFA) Pay Reparations? (Ep. 426) | Stephen J. Dubner | July 16, 2020 | Freakonomics
According to various estimates, almost 17,000 people among the peak 50,000 population were slaves – who not only worked in households but also in the harbor and storage facilities.
Ostia Antica: Reconstruction and History of The Harbor City of Ancient Rome | Dattatreya Mandal | April 14, 2020 | Realm of History

By giving an artistic veto to a madman, we submit to the mindset of a slave.
The Sony Hack and America’s Craven Capitulation To Terror | David Keyes | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the Bible, Moses does kill a guy—the Egyptian slave master who is beating an Israelite to death.
Christian Bale: One Man's Moses Is Another Man's Terrorist | Candida Moss, Joel Baden | December 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
This year McQueen picked up three Oscars (including best picture) for his third motion picture 12 Years A slave.
Has the Turner Prize Gone Soft? | David Levesley | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
For the next hour and half I was the willing sex slave of a semi-professional Master I had met through a friend.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix | Justin Jones | November 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Within the black community itself, the slave mentality is still being battled.
Herbie Hancock Holds Forth | David Yaffe | November 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Gallinas, the noted slave factory on the west of Africa, purchased by the Liberian republic.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
If he is indifferent to my happiness, and unjust to the woman I love, I will no longer work like a slave for him.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
Although the number of slaves in the Brazils is very great, there is nowhere such a thing as a slave-market.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
In Brazil, the slave-trade exists in full force; in Cuba, it is unmitigated in its extent and horrors.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various
In 1813, some disputes arose between the court of Rio and England on account of the slave trade.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria Graham

British Dictionary definitions for slave

slave

/ (sleɪv) /

noun

a person legally owned by another and having no freedom of action or right to property
a person who is forced to work for another against his will

a person under the domination of another person or some habit or influence: a slave to television
a person who works in harsh conditions for low pay
- a device that is controlled by or that duplicates the action of another similar device (the master device)
- (as modifier): slave cylinder

verb

(intr often foll by away) to work like a slave
(tr) an archaic word for enslave

Origin of slave

C13: via Old French from Medieval Latin Sclāvus a Slav, one held in bondage (from the fact that the Slavonic races were frequently conquered in the Middle Ages), from Late Greek Sklabos a Slav

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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